The Plough

I love this pub. I have visited on a weekday, Saturday evening and a Sunday and all have been great.
The décor is quirky and fun and the staff and very friendly. The food is delicious and is always served quickly. It is great value for money.
In the summer the beer garden is brilliant. The perfect place to go for a drink in the sunshine.

Such a cute hipster style bar, amazing interior and beautiful garden out the back! They do an amazing hot chocolate (comes with a biscuit too!) definitely going back!

Every neighbourhood dreams of having a great local pub. A boozer within staggering distance home that is friendly, with good beers and food that hasn’t been blitzed beyond recognition in a microwave. Sadly, only a tiny percentage are this lucky. Pubs in general are a dying breed. Some close because the culture for a pint or six after work is diminishing, others because they fail to react to a market that is forever changing. Birmingham is a city blessed with enthusiastic young souls trying to buck this trend. There has been a boom of pubs changing hands and reinventing themselves as places that offer a cut-​above in both beers and grub. Some have failed miserably, others range from mediocre to very good. One is outstanding.
Being the difficult bastard that I am, I realise that I am sticking my neck on the line by calling The Plough outstanding, but believe me, it really is. They have done what others neglect and grasped the basic needs of the customer. The beer and wine selection is current and well kept. The service both friendly and unobtrusive. They make you feel valued, which is an achievement in its own right, given the piss-​poor service too often encountered from across a bar. And there is the food.
A humble pizza seems a good place to start. It is the acid test of ingredient quality; there is no hiding behind technical wizardry. It is a sum of its parts. A pizza with salami, pancetta and chorizo lives or dies on the quality of the charcuterie. Fortunately for the chef here, he knows where to shop for cured meats. The mixture of tastes and textures from the different parts of the animal backed up by some quality mozzarella and fresh chilli to give comfort and bite. The base is crisp and slightly charred with just enough chew. It is the best pizza I have had outside of the original Franco Manca in Brixton. If various bits of preserved pig isn’t your thing, another pizza, this time with halloumi, courgettes and broccoli proved they understand the needs of vegetarians equally well.
The menu here has an emphasis on comfort. The cooking processes are kept simple and allow the quality of the ingredients to do the talking. A stew has chicken and more of the top-​class chorizo listed as its primary ingredients, though in reality owes its depth to the tomato sauce, layered with garlic, black olives, paprika and peppers. I wipe the bowl clean with the hunk of sourdough served alongside it. A burger comes topped with more minced meat — this time a ragu — that provides a textural difference, as well as the recognisable flavour of a punchy chilli con carne. Its also bloody good fun to eat. Dirty food in elegant Harborne.
Dessert could easily have been cheese cake, or an eton mess, though I plumped for a sizeable wedge of white chocolate tart. The pastry short and crumbly, with any potential sickliness from the cocoa butter offset by an embedded raspberry coulis and a scoop of accompanying passion fruit sorbet. It was indulgent, clever and thoroughly satisfying
They recently rid the bar here of the majority of conventional spirit brands to offer smaller craft distilleries the opportunity to hog the limelight. This sums up the ethos of The Plough perfectly; every tiny detail is analysed to provide a better customer experience. If every neighbourhood had a local like The Plough the world would be a better place. I honestly cant remember ever enjoying a trip to a public house as much. Best in Birmingham? Absolutely. In the country? Quite possibly.

I love the plough fir Sunday lunch, having visited here several times I has a really fantastic experience last weekend. I went with several file members who showed up without warning on Sunday. Not wanting to cook I suggested the plough with the warning we might not get a table.
The staff were fantastic and a short wait (20 minutes) we were seated and being served by an incredibly pleasant member of staff. Food was amazing and served quickly with no problems. I can’t recommend this place highly enough for Sunday lj

Tasty but have to work for your dinner.
The décor and atmosphere in the Plough is great. The food menu is good for pub food and after eating there a few times everything I’ve tried is really good with decent portions. The calazone and pizzas are nice and really generous sizes, they will even give you a pizza box to take it with you if you don’t finish it. There is a whiskey bar there also if your a Bourbon/​whiskey drinker like me its a nice touch.
But there is one thing that does annoy me… You go up the bar to order a drink for you and your partner, she has a wine or cider and you want a Bourbon… so you have to order a drink at each bar, 2 trips for 1 round. You sit down with the menu choose your food then go back up the bar again to order your food, during the meal you need another drink so obviously you ask the waiter/waitress…Nope back up the bar mid meal you go. Then come desert (grasshopper pie is pretty good!!) you have to go back up the bar to order again… best get a drink while you there!
Food is good and fair value, the drinks can be a little pricey for a Pub (especially if you like something from the whiskey bar) I just wished you got a little more service, once your sat down and eating, read: spending more, surely bringing more drinks isn’t to much to ask!

Pricey but worth it. Indulge in one of the tastiest carveries Birmingham has to offer here.

OMG! If u haven’t been here, u haven’t really had a real British breakfast. God, everything is just so perfect! The atmosphere is so nice, the staff are so friendly, the service is very fast (took them less than 5 mins to bring my order), and most importantly, the food is heavenly! This place is A Must Try! Definitely going there again!

Fantastic bar/​restaurant that seamlessly blends an old pub building with a modern terrace/​outdoor space. I took my mum here for a Saturday afternoon lunch and we were both very impressed. The meals are large and of a very high quality, I was happy to see a good selection of healthy options, my favourite being that you can have any burger from the menu ‘skinny’ (no bread and served with salad instead of chips)
We washed our meals down with a very well made Pimms, each complete with fruit, cucumber and mint. I can’t recommend this place enough, if you are in Harbourne, make a visit and be ready to be impressed.

The Plough is one of those destinations in Harborne that can get very busy. On many visits, we have had to make a few circuits of the restaurant to find a seat.
The restaurant menu is reasonable. There are offers available on various days of the week, so worth checking those out if you like a bargain.
The ambience is nicely relaxed. However, it is one of those venues that can get very noisy, and feel quite bustly when you’re in. This also means that placing an order at the bar can be challenging on busy days.
When the weather is nice, there is the beer garden. Actually they have a sheltered area in the beer garden with outdoor heaters, so even when the weather is not so nice, it is worth a visit.
I ordered the fish and chips when we last dined in. The portion was quite generous. The fish was succulent, the batter was crisp, and the chips were perfect. I would have liked more tartare sauce in the serving. Also, it was served on a wooden board. If you’re a fan of the plate then you’ll be left wanting after a visit here.
Mr Ting ordered a calzone. This came out piping hot, and served very plainly. The filling was very tasty, but there was a big gap inside the calzone. I felt that there could have been a bit more filling to it.
The food came out quickly despite how busy the restaurant area was. And everything came out hot for our group of seven diners too.
Overall The Plough is a great spot. Can’t wait to come back over the summer for some drinks in the beer garden.

The Plough is a popular, atmospheric, and (almost always) busy pub. They have great coffee (top 50 in the UK, apparently) and a fantastic beer garden. Really great variety of beers and ciders on tap.
The food is good, although I don’t understand the hype around the burgers, which in my opinion are rather dry and disappointing considering they average around £10. The chips are decent, and the pizzas and calzones are fantastic– something about that dough, yum.
It’s always worth checking out the specials at the Plough– I’ve never been disappointed with the pasta dishes and once they did a mango and crayfish salad that was really delicious.
The Plough is really nice, but ultimately I just find it to be a bit overpriced and even on weeknights the crowds can be a bit frustrating. It is well worth the visit certain days of the week when they have 2 for 1 specials though– just make sure you book a table in advance!

One of my favorite places to go in Birmingham. Nice atmosphere and extensive menu. Have been both on a Friday night and a midweek lunchtime and both times it has been great. The burger they do is one of the best I have had in Birmingham so would recommend going for that alone!

The Plough made such a good impression on me I just had to go back. I love the area, the pub, and the menu. Apparently I’m not the only one who feels this way.
Shortly after finding a table in the late morning the crowds came in. If you plan on coming with a large group I recommend calling ahead to get reservations. They were serving the breakfast/​brunch menu during our seating. I opted for the bacon pancakes.
The food is presented just beautifully like the perfect instagram photo. And it tastes just as good. If you are a tea drinker you must order a pot just for the cute factor. All teapots come out dressed in little tea cozys. I wonder if they sell them as they all look homemade. My only complaint is that the food came old on the cold side. Perhaps it was due to how crowded it was, but it was like the food had been sitting out for a while. Regardless it still tasted amazing.
I think prices for the Plough are affordable. If you have an Independent Birmingham card you receive a discount so keep that in mind. They have a beer garden out back that must be wonderful on sunny days. if we ever get any.
I really want to get back there for lunch or dinner. And maybe try a cocktail if they have any. If you’re ever in Harborne try it out.

Very busy on the Friday we were there (we didn’t booked ahead, which turned out to be not very smart) but we managed to get a table for an hour. The menu is a slightly more «sophisticated» pub menu. We opted for their famous burger and pizza. The wine menu was good value. some of the beers are expensive.
The food did not impress, but was decent (too much cheese on the pizza, the burger could have been more flavourful). The burger was of poor quality, I’ve had better from stalls at the side of the road! It’s not that hard to make a home-​made burger and doesn’t cost that much either — not when you’re charging £12+ for them! The white pizza was bland and boring — I wonder has the chef actually tried the flavour combinations of this?
The pub (nice, with a rather large restaurant part at the back of the pub”), has a fantastic outdoor space and beer garden which I am sure is very nice during summer Good atmosphere great for young professionals and families too.

One time I had a perfect Bloody Mary at a pub in Cambridge and now I’m always chasing the rainbow. The Plough’s version, which was lovingly prepared, certainly came close, involving as it did all sorts of fun ingredients such as coarsegrain mustard.
Apparently though this is one of Birmingham’s finest pubs and my hugely beer obsessed friends were drinking some sort of delicious obscure hops nonsense.
The pub is huge and decorated in the fine line between attractive and yuppie way that basically means it’s mega comfortable with loads of space to sit and eat. It was packed after work on a Thursday and, judging by the amount of reserved signs, going to be busy for dinner too. I started longingly at some guy’s pizza until I realised it looked like I was actually staring longingly at him. A key Harborne destination!

What a fab place for brunch, as a largish crowd of us descended on the plough for brunch and my heart went out to the chef, but all the food arrived promptly, freshly prepared, really tasty and unfortunately with just one small mix up on the order, but for a group of about ¹⁵⁄₁₆ I think they did sterling work of getting our food out to us.
The plough is a very traditional looking British pub, with a cosy, friendly interior, friendly staff and an amazing breakfast menu.
I had scrambled eggs with smoked salmon on toast and the salmon was beautiful and plentiful and a Bloody Mary, an awesome Bloody Mary too, not just tomato juice with vodka, but beautifully spiced and seasoned, I do not like tomato juice but I bravely decided to try a Bloody Mary, I really really wish I liked tomato juice, but I still don’t.
The ploughs reputation for great breakfasts is well deserved, and I look forward to visiting the plough again, it’s a lively pub with a wonderful atmosphere and serving great food. What more could you ask for from a pub?

I’ve been going to The Plough for various reasons for many years now and I’ve always had a soft spot for the place. I hadn’t actually been for quite a while until this morning when Unilocal threw their first Bruch event and I was excited to see how their Brunch menu was.
Breakfast items in places are simple but its always good to see how a place will execute this simplicity. I ordered what is a full english and my fiancée ordered Eggs Benedict.
The teas we ordered came out in pots with very cute and attractive tea cosys on, the small milk urn that my other half received was also a lovely touch too. instantly these things brightened up my morning and I hadn’t eaten yet.
When the breakfasts came out they were excellent, every item on the plate was brilliantly selected and cooked. Sausages, bacon, hash brown, beans, toast… fantastic. My partners looked equally pleasing and she also commented on how great it was. Black pudding is something difficult to do well in my opinion but here it was amazing, they even given you the option to ditch that free of charge if its not something you are into.
I know the other food is great I have eaten there before, albeit some time ago, if I eat soon, I will update the review. I felt that the breakfast alone was a testament to the pub.
They have a fabulous selection of beers. There is a brilliant selection of snacks in jars behind the bar. The quiz they run is amazingly popular, which runs on Tuesday. The beer garden is lovely and huge making this venue a brilliant place to be in the summer too. I can’t really think of anything bad to say about The Plough at all, its easily the friendliest and most pleasant place to be in Harborne right now.
Maybe my only criticism is the price is perhaps a little high BUT considering the quality, I am happy to pay it. Well done Plough, you’re good enough for me to venture all that way on a Sunday morning.

The Plough is one of mine and many other’s favourite pubs, both in Birmingham and all time best ever lists.
Firstly it’s 100% independent! It’s not pretending to be independent or part of a pubco chain, The Plough is a company with one pub. There’s something about successful small independent businesses that makes one proud of their city.
The décor is rather hip, with Star Wars toys in cabinets and candles in marmite tubs. They have their own ‘flavour’ of Pips hot sauce, which one can buy behind the bar. Also behind the bar are jars of traditional sweeties, perfect for kids or those with a sweet tooth. Think pseudo reclaimed chairs and tables but
The food is fantastic! Not overly pricey at around £9 — £14 for a main. Although remarks have been made about their £5.25 garlic bread and £5.75 bacon butty. The later being on the brunch menu. The pizzas are talked about as some of the best in Brum. Topping many Italian restaurants.
If you are price conscious, I would recommend their 2-​for-​1 pizzas on Monday’s and 2-​for-​1 burgers on Tuesdays. Tuesday is also quiz night, which I believe a few local Unilocalers totally failed at one evening. ;)
The beer range isn’t overly exciting, with standard beers that one can find across the city from Purity, Roosters and Wye Valley. I have a soft spot for Hoegaarden, which was a hip beer 10 years ago and the first wit style tried by many beer geeks.
They have recently installed a Purity Longhorn keg tap. Expect to pay more for your drinks than elsewhere across the city, and indeed elsewhere in Harborne. Pints of ale/​beer range from £3.70 to £4.70 per pint.
What really makes The Plough special is their consistent ability to go the extra mile. In the summer they hand out free ice lollies and sun cream, so as you can soak up the sun in their fantastic beer garden all day. In the winter they hand out hot water bottles in woollen jackets to those that still wish to sit outside. And all year round (because we all know how temperamental the British weather can be) they have umbrellas for sheltering from the rain.
This is a pub that recognises quality and is not afraid to try new things. As such it has become very popular, some might argue too popular. Even during the daytime it gets full with local parents choosing it as a child-​friendly place to socialise over a coffee. I almost forgot to mention, it’s been listed in the top 50 coffee venues in the UK for two years in a row! As it’s get’s so busy, if there are a few of you planning on going and you do plan on eating, it’s always wise to book a table in advance.

I first visited the Plough on Harborne High St. a couple of weeks ago with some friends to celebrate a birthday. It made a fantastic first impression!
When we arrived (table booked for 7:30, and I recommend booking) the place was packed out, with people drinking at the bar, dining, and hanging out in the garden. The bar had a real buzz about it and I enjoyed the lively atmosphere. After getting a pint of good old Purity Mad Goose I had a chance to look around. The Plough may look quaint from the outside, but within it has a great modern industrial feel to it. At the back of the, near to where we were sitting, the whole wall was virtually opened up onto the garden, which looked pretty fancy.
Then on to the food! I could happily have ordered anything on the menu, it all sounded delish. Prior to visiting I’d heard great things about the pizza and there were several really interesting topping combos available on the menu (you can also take away anything you don’t manage to finish in a pizza box). After much painful deliberation I chose to have a chilli beef burger — a burger in brioche bun, topped with chilli, jalapenos and all kinds of loveliness. The burger was served with fries and other accompaniments. It was all delicious and really filling — you get a lot for your money. Other dishes on our table included fancy fish and chips, beef brisket, both of which also looked delicious.
All in all a great pub. I’ll definitely be going back for more.

It was a night of firsts. Not only was my visit last Friday the first time I had been to The Plough, it was the first time I’d actually gone to Harborne for food and drink.
Friends of mine have not long bought a house in Harborne and so as residents of the area they inevitably want to try and show this city boy the local highlights.
From the outside and when first walking in, it has a feel of a country pub. As it was a Friday is was bustling however the bar staff were pros and I didn’t have to wait long at all to get my first drink, a nice pint of Mad Goose.
My friends had booked a table for 7.30 and we waited a little for the staff to clear people off of ours. I also learnt that we had to buy food at the bar, which I don’t mind as it hells eradicate that bill splitting fiasco at the end of the sitting.
I ordered a beef brisket and others at the table ordered a burger and fish a chips. All looked very tasty and mine was lovely. With a side of doughy grilled bread and some chutney the beef was soft, tender and full of flavour.
I had a chance to look around the place on my way to and from the loos, which BTW are very nice. The whole place has an industrial meets country farm mix with lashings of wood, practically everywhere. There is also a lovely garden and outside seating however it was raining for us so we stayed clear.
My experience was very positive and would love to go back and soak some rays with a drink or three in the garden. Give it a go city peeps!

Monday 2−4−1 Pizzas
Went with my friend for major catch up. As soon as you step in there is a great atmosphere, especially for a Monday, had to have a look for a table as it was so busy.
We ordered our drinks and pizza at the bar each having half pint of cider. The smell from the kitchen made our mouths water and in no time at all we had our pizzas. I was able to swap rocket for olives on my pizza really easily at the bar when I ordered. Pizza’s were brilliant, very fresh ingrediant, probably one of the best I ever had.
The style of the pub was slightly vintage and we kept on pointing out all the different features and finishes that we kept on spotting.
The Plough had a big range of different people, one of the only places I’ve seen students and locals of equal amount.
Would really recommend to anyone for drink, meal or lunch, another good reason to go Harbourne! :)